kitten nail caps

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Has anyone tried the nail caps for cats or kittens? I'm trying to avoid declawing my kittens. They are destroying my curtains and couch. They don't do it when we are home, but the proof is there. I read about nail caps but they get a lot of mixed review. Any other suggestions?

Has anyone tried the nail caps for cats or kittens? I'm trying to avoid declawing my kittens. They are destroying my curtains and couch. They don't do it when we are home, but the proof is there. I read about nail caps but they get a lot of mixed review. Any other suggestions?

How many scratching posts do you have, what materials are they and where are they located within the house? How old are your kittens? How are you currently correcting and re-directing them when they scratch on an unacceptable surface?

Do you have any vertical scratching posts like cat trees? Especially making sure the posts are fat and stable. Having both ones that sit on the floor and vertical ones they can stand and stretch up on while they claw is important. Also cutting their nails every 1-2 weeks will significantly help.

I have three scratching posts and two that hang on door knobs. The kittens are almost 6 months old. The problem is most of the time I don't catch them. It's when I'm gone at work or sleeping at night. The few times I have caught them, I move them one of the scratching posts. My vet suggested a squirt bottle with water, but again, it's mostly when I'm not around to stop them. I will try cutting their nails more often too. It's so frustrating.

on trimming - it is also a good thing for your cat to learn to accept to hold still and have their paws manipulated.

You can use deterrent items on their favorite areas for inappropriate scratching - sticky surfaces or aluminum foil are both unpleasant to a cats paws. There are double sided fabric tapes available that won't damage upholstery, etc that you can use to put over the corners of the couch, etc.....you can get it at pet stores. They also make "scat mats" that have a mild static charge OR just an unpleasant surface (think the little spikes like the bottom of a plastic mat you put under an office chair - they aren't sharp enough to hurt, but they make an unattractive scratching surface). You can also just temporarily rearrange things so that their ability to walk up to the couch and position themselves to scratch is impeded since they have to be able to put themselves into the scratching position. These are the types of things that are helpful for unsupervised times when you can't be there to redirect.

Think about the areas they ARE scratching - how they are shaped, how the cats are able to approach them -- and give them an approved scratching place that replicates that as much as possible. Also, a lot of people think they want to put the "okay" areas as far from the places they don't want to have scratched as they can to "teach the cat" not to scratch over there - but the cats are telling you what areas they feel comfortable in and often the places people choose are areas the cat doesn't care for so is unlikely to venture to and use.

we tried to use the covers and they just chewed them off with in a day or 2.
We tried keeping their claws clipped but in the end we just declawed.

I know there are tons of horror stories, and a lot of people think it is inhuman, and I am aware of the health issues that happen when you declaw.
but for us the only options where keep then and declaw or rehome them, I definitely did not want to rehome them,

Jack is 11 and is currently not showing any signs of arthritis and Bucky is only 6 years old.

we also only used a vet that used the latest laser declaw methods, followed the litter box rules to a T, kept them medicated for pain and kept them off high surfaces for 2-3 days until they healed some.
we have never had any trouble with them after a declaw.

We used the covers for a while when we first got our cat. We were nervous about him scratching the dogs eyes. Now that they are buddies we don't use them anymore but they were nice to have while we worked on getting everyone used to each other. They are not a long term solution though because they do come off and are kind of a pain. Worth a try while you try to solve the problem though.

on trimming - it is also a good thing for your cat to learn to accept to hold still and have their paws manipulated.

You can use deterrent items on their favorite areas for inappropriate scratching - sticky surfaces or aluminum foil are both unpleasant to a cats paws. There are double sided fabric tapes available that won't damage upholstery, etc that you can use to put over the corners of the couch, etc.....you can get it at pet stores. They also make "scat mats" that have a mild static charge OR just an unpleasant surface (think the little spikes like the bottom of a plastic mat you put under an office chair - they aren't sharp enough to hurt, but they make an unattractive scratching surface). You can also just temporarily rearrange things so that their ability to walk up to the couch and position themselves to scratch is impeded since they have to be able to put themselves into the scratching position. These are the types of things that are helpful for unsupervised times when you can't be there to redirect.

Think about the areas they ARE scratching - how they are shaped, how the cats are able to approach them -- and give them an approved scratching place that replicates that as much as possible. Also, a lot of people think they want to put the "okay" areas as far from the places they don't want to have scratched as they can to "teach the cat" not to scratch over there - but the cats are telling you what areas they feel comfortable in and often the places people choose are areas the cat doesn't care for so is unlikely to venture to and use.

Thanks for all the great advice. Time to tape the couch and do some research.

Originally Posted by gunsgirl

we tried to use the covers and they just chewed them off with in a day or 2.
We tried keeping their claws clipped but in the end we just declawed.

I know there are tons of horror stories, and a lot of people think it is inhuman, and I am aware of the health issues that happen when you declaw.
but for us the only options where keep then and declaw or rehome them, I definitely did not want to rehome them,

Jack is 11 and is currently not showing any signs of arthritis and Bucky is only 6 years old.

we also only used a vet that used the latest laser declaw methods, followed the litter box rules to a T, kept them medicated for pain and kept them off high surfaces for 2-3 days until they healed some.
we have never had any trouble with them after a declaw.

Good to know it can work ok when necessary. I've heard so many horror stories about infection etc. I didn't know about the lasers. I will definitely look into this if the other things don't work.

Originally Posted by Dr.VinoVet

Cats often dont like the ones that hand on doors since they move. I suggest getting a stationary large pole scratching post, like these ones: